Tahmoh Penikett is a busy actor. He played Helo in Battlestar Galactica and is currently starring on the TV series Rogue. But he has plenty of time to read in between takes. Right now, he can't put down The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra.

I came upon a book by Anthony Marra called The Tsar of Love and Techno. I looked at it briefly and on the back it said something about short stories — right up my alley — and there was something in the title that I thought it would be light, maybe even comedic. I was very wrong.

All the short stories take place over the last 100 years in Russia. It can be quite heavy at times, but Marra is an excellent writer and I really enjoyed this book. The very first short story is about a fencer who was once an artist who has to go and remove unfavourable ex-party members from all posters, photographs, any records. It shows you how much they were able to manipulate history at that time. Marra does an incredible job of painting Russia. You get a real sense of the time and characters.